April 2016 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 19 Cases
The Air Force tried 19 courts-martial in April 2016. The median confinement was 11 months, compared with 4 months for the Air Force across 2016.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Short answer: The Air Force tried 19 courts-martial in April 2016. The median confinement was 11 months, compared with 4 months for the Air Force across 2016. General courts-martial made up 74% of the month's cases, against 47% for the year, and Article 120b (child sexual abuse) was charged in 33% of cases, against 11%.
Longer Confinement Than the 2016 Median
Of the 19 cases, 15 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Confinement was part of 13 of those 15 sentences (87%). The median confinement was 11 months, longer than the 4 months for the Air Force across all of 2016.
Among the sentences that included confinement, a quarter were 3.3 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial and before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in its case.
Mostly General Courts-Martial
The month had 14 general courts-martial and 5 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 74%, compared with 47% for the year.
A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge or dismissal. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Child Sexual Abuse and General Article Charges
Charge lists are available for 15 of the 19 cases, and a case charging several articles counts under each. Article 134 (general article) was the most common, in 6 cases (40%), compared with 27% for the year. Article 120b (child sexual abuse) appeared in 5 cases (33%), compared with 11%.
Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 2 cases (13%), lower than the 46% for the year. Article 120 and Article 121 also appeared in 2 cases each. Article 107, Article 92, and Article 133 appeared in 1 case each.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 6 | 40% | 27% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 5 | 33% | 11% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 2 | 13% | 46% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 2 | 13% | 7% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 2 | 13% | 12% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 1 | 7% | 10% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 1 | 7% | 16% |
| Art. 133 Conduct unbecoming an officer | 1 | 7% | 3% |
Punitive Discharges and Dismissal
For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge. A punitive discharge followed 69% of enlisted convictions in April 2016: 5 bad-conduct discharges and 4 dishonorable discharges. For the year, the rate was 54%.
The records show 2 convicted officers or warrant officers this month, and 1 was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Full Acquittals Measured Against All Cases
In 4 of the 19 cases, the accused was acquitted of all charges (21%). The rate for the Air Force in 2016 was 18%.
From 2016 to 2019, Air Force records rarely note a guilty plea. For that reason, this rate uses all cases as the base, not only contested cases, in which the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge.
A More Senior Group of Accused
The accused were 11 junior enlisted members, 6 NCOs, and 2 officers. This group was more senior than the Air Force's accused across 2016.
Who Decided Guilt
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone decided 10 cases. Enlisted panels heard 5 and officer panels heard 4. Members heard 47% of the cases, about the same as the 45% for the year.
Before the Military Justice Act of 2016
The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It later set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and brought in written plea agreements. None of that applied to these trials.
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they do not show nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals and never report plea agreements.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Air Force courts-martial with a trial date in April 2016 (19 cases), compared with the whole year.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- Air Force Courts-Martial, May 2016: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- The Air Force Court-Martial Year, 2016 (the whole year)
- Air Force Courts-Martial, April 2018: The Month in Review
- Air Force Courts-Martial, April 2019: The Month in Review
- Air Force Courts-Martial, August 2018: The Month in Review
- Air Force Courts-Martial, August 2020: The Month in Review
- Air Force Courts-Martial, August 2022: The Month in Review
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.